The Berliner Symphoniker (''Berlin Symphony Orchestra'') is a German

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

The orchestra began its performing activity on 1 September 1967 as ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin'', under the auspices of the ''Berliner Orchestervereinigung e.V.'', after the merger of two independent orchestras, the ''Berliner Symphonisches Orchester'' and the ''Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester''. Carl August Bünte, who had been chief conductor of the ''Berliner Symphonisches Orchester'', was the first chief conductor of the newly formed ensemble, and held the position until 1973. From 1967 to 1990, the orchestra performed as the ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin''. In 1990, the orchestra was renamed the ''Berliner Symphoniker''. In 2004, the Berlin Senate withdrew its support of the orchestra, which subsequently entered

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

proceedings. Subsequently, the ''Berolina Orchester eV'' association took over management of the orchestra. Since 2019, the current ''Intendantin'' (managing director) of the orchestra is Sabine Völker, the first woman to hold the post. The longest-serving chief conductor of the orchestra was Lior Shambadal, from 1996 to 2019. In April 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Hansjörg Schellenberger as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season.

Concert tours

* 1996: Brazil * 1998–2000: USA, Egypt, United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Italy * 2001: Italy, United Kingdom, South America * 2002: Japan * 2004: Japan, Hungary, Czech Republic, Frankfurt am Main * 2005: South Korea, China, Switzerland, Italy, Greece * 2006: Spain, Switzerland * 2007: Argentina (Buenos Aires; International Festival Ushuaia), Italy, Japan, China * 2008: Festival de Mallorca, Japan, China * 2010: Japan, China * 2012: Japan, Vietnam, China, France, Greece * 2013: Andorra, China * 2014: Japan * 2015: Italy, Croatia, China, Israel * 2016: Japan, South Korea, France, Mallorca * 2018: Japan, Austria * 2019: Italy, China * 2022: Dubai, Austria, Netherlands * 2023: Japan * 2024: Dubai

Chief conductors

* Carl August Bünte (1967–1973) *

Theodore Bloomfield Theodore Robert Bloomfield (June 14, 1923 – April 1, 1998) was an American conductor. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, he studied music at Oberlin College in Ohio and conducting with Edgar Schenkman for two years on a fellowship at the Juilli ...

(1975–1982) * Daniel Nazareth (1982–1985) *

Alun Francis Alun Francis (born 29 September 1943) is a Welsh conductor. Career Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years. In 1978 he conducted the premiere of Donizetti's opera ''Gabriella di Vergy'' in the Que ...

(1989–1996) * Lior Shambadal (1996–2019) *

Hansjörg Schellenberger Hansjörg Schellenberger is a German oboist and conductor born in 1948. He won the first prize at the German Jugend musiziert Competition with seventeen, which led to a scholarship enabling him to further his education at Interlochen (Michig ...

(2021–2023)

References

External links

Official website of the Berliner Symphoniker

German-language history page on the Berliner Symphoniker
* {{Authority control German symphony orchestras Orchestras in Berlin Musical groups established in 1967 1967 establishments in Germany